- Conference
- 2016 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 12 August 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference, our worst fears were realised on Friday 8th May 2015 as we all woke to find that the nightmare of the past 5 years would continue for the next 5 years, but this time with a small majority Conservative Government.
This Government have wasted no time in slashing our basic Human Rights with the proposed introduction of ‘British Rights’ and the continued cuts to Public Services, effecting the most vulnerable in our society and disproportionately impacting on Black workers and members, through redundancies, downsizing and disciplinary.
UKIP and its rhetoric surrounding immigration, did nothing more than fuel hatred and the dividing of the nation as we forgot to stand up and state ‘we live in a country with an incredible diverse workforce that as a labour movement we should be uniting and not dividing’.
What we do in fighting back with the onslaught of cuts, austerity will have a new meaning to many. Our members will expect the union to be strong, clear and take the lead in its response, we must stop looking to the past and focus on ensuring that everyone has a stake in the future as we build a fairer, democratic and more equal sustainable union and society
We therefore call on the National Black Members Committee to:
1)Seek to work with the National Executive Council (NEC) to have a key organising and recruitment plan to ensure we can retain and recruit new Black members in both public, private, community and voluntary sectors.
2)Share best practice across regions that have raised the profile of Black self-organisation and the importance of collective bargaining when tackling discrimination in the workplace.
3)Publish information in Black Action and other UNISON mediums throughout the year in 2016 of the outcomes of supported race cases and UNISON’s work with Thompson Solicitor’s and the Race Discrimination Claims Protocol
4)Invite Show Racism the Red Card to the next National Black Members Conference in 2017 as part of the continued joint work with UNISON.
5)Create a library of UNISON National Black Members achievements to ensure the legacy continues through activist campaigns.
6)Seek to hold a networking social at the 2016 National Delegates Conference (NDC) called ‘Organising around Race Equality’ and promote this through UNISON media leading up to the NDC in 2016 and the importance of Self-organisation in UNISON.